Yesterday BCinDC made an excursion to The Book Thing of Baltimore to stock up on books to give away next weekend at the Gaithersburg Book Festival. This is one of the ones I brought home.

This book, along with many others, will be distributed for free by members of the local Book Crossing group, BCinDC, at the Gaithersburg Book Festival.

Welcome to Book Crossing -- this book is now yours to read, retain, release, or any combination thereof which suits your fancy. Books registered with Book Crossing are tracked by those who have read them before to see where they will go and who they will meet on their journeys. People who participate in the Book Crossing community often establish friendships and trade books or comments on books and just relish a relationship with other readers across the globe.

You are welcome (and encouraged) to create a journal entry on the book, particularly when passing it on to a specific someone or releasing in the wild. You don't have to read the book to create a journal entry nor do you have to feel obligated to write only positive things. All those who have had their hands on the book before you would be excited to read any journal entry you choose to make.

You can remain anonymous or join Book Crossing, where you are known to others by the screen name of your choice and no personal information is revealed. If you join, you can receive e-mail updates about all the places this book travels to in the future. (I would love it if you listed me, 6of8, as your referring member).

Sharing books in this fashion is just another way of spreading good karma across the world. Whatever you choose to do, enjoy the book!